Summary - Day 1 - Hashnode Bootcamp

Hey there 👋. Hashnode is hosting a boot camp from 1 May 2023 to 3 May 2023, with the goal of assisting developers in improving their writing skills. If you're a student who wants to document your development journey or a developer who is looking to get into technical writing, this boot camp is meant for you.

Here is a summary of Day 1 of the #HashnodeBootcamp 😊 -

Day 1: Welcome and introduction to writing for developers

Two sessions were scheduled for Day 1 and the whole event was moderated by Daniela Passos.

• Session 1 - The Importance of Writing as a Developer - By Ankur Tyagi

• Session 2 - Leveraging Technical Writing to Land Opportunities and Boost Your Developer Career - By Swapna Kumar Panda

Session 1 - The Importance of Writing as a Developer

Ankur started by sharing his journey about how he started as a developer. His first attempt at writing came through creating documentation for a project he was working on. Being fascinated by the blogs he came across while resolving bugs, he got interested in technical writing. He soon started researching domain names, and details about writing and researching and started by sharing his experience on Twitter. One thing led to another and now we have him here as our mentor. Here is the summary of the same -

(P.S. - This summary contains a mix of Insights shared by Ankur Sir and my understanding of the same.)

1. Why Write

   1. According to Ankur, writing is the second best and most important thing for growing as a developer.

   2. Not only does it help you to improve your communication, but it also helps you become proficient in that field. To write something, you need in-depth knowledge about the same. Hence, it is beneficial for a developer.

2. How To Start

   1. Be good in at least one tech stack.

   2. The first step is to understand your style. For that, you need to write as much as you can and learn with every iteration.

   3. Write about what you're learning on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. And after a couple of iterations, you will get your style.

   4. Ankur emphasises on not to exhaust ourselves by forceful writing. Instead, write when motivation strikes and produce quality work.

3. Sources for Ideation -

   1. Refer to Twitter. Spend 15 - 20 mins daily and explore your domain.

   2. Occasionally, follow people from totally different backgrounds and gain a different perspective from them.

4. How to Increase Reach -

   1. It is your responsibility to share your content. You may be a good blog writer, but if people don't know you there is no use.

   2. Be active on platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. take responsibility for sharing your content and leverage as many platforms as possible.

   3. Don't become a SPAM BOT.

   4. SEO optimize your blog.

5. Importance of Editing and Having a Unique Style -

   1. Find your style. Your style (in editing and formulating a paragraph) is something your readers will remember you from.

   2. He took the example of Monica from Blogging for Dev for having a unique style of writing.

6. When to Start -

   1. The best time to start is today. Ankur believes that we have enough resources to gain knowledge and start writing about our favourite tech stack. So start by writing weekly and get a taste of writing. It sure is beneficial in the longer run.

   2. Remember, writing is not a Get Rich Quick Scheme. You need to consistently provide value to your viewers.

Session 2 - Leveraging Technical Writing to Land Opportunities and Boost Your Developer Career

Swapna started by explaining the importance of writing and documenting our work. It is wisely said that -

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Writing about our journey allows other people to gain insight from it, enabling them to work further and not make the same mistakes. Here is the summary of the same -

(P.S. - This summary contains a mix of insights shared by Swapna Sir and my understanding of the same.)

1. What is technical writing

   1. Swapna explained technical writing and how it is a skill unconsciously hooned and used by developers to document projects and products they work on.

2. Formats used to convey information

   1. Textual content - Blogs, documentation, etc.

   2. Infographic - Used hand-in-hand with blogs, videos, etc.

   3. Audio - Podcasts, interviews.

   4. Video - Youtube tutorials, Udemy courses, etc.

   5. Tip - Try making your content more interactive and engaging.

3. How to Monetise

   1. Create your brand name, so people associate you with certain qualities. Then monetize your work in the following ways -

      1. Having a subscription-based model.

      2. Collaboration

      3. Paid content

      4. Ghostwriting

      5. Full-Time Content Writing

4. Benefits of Writing -

   1. Improve communication skills.

   2. Get more visibility on the internet.

   3. Improved lifestyle.

   4. You can one day make a course, road map or even be a brand ambassador.

5. How to start / Where to write / What to write -

   1. Start with what you know about.

   2. Have in-depth knowledge about the topic you're going to write on.

   3. Simplify it for people to understand.

   4. Write a summary at the end.

   5. Have infographics to create mental models of difficult concepts.

   6. Connect with your audience.

   7. Slowly keep diversifying your field.

Swapna ended this session by sharing his success story of making it in the technical writing field. I recommend you hear about it from him in the recording shared here - Day 1: Boost Your Developer Career through Writing.

That was all for Day - 1. On Day 2, there is going to be - Personal Branding and Community Engagement

• Session 1: Leveraging Social Media for Monetization - by Nader Dabit.

• Session 2: Building Your Personal Brand on Social Media - by Ákos Kőműves.

Looking forward to seeing all of you there. Cheers 😁.

Connect with me here - 🚀 Aryaman Singh Rana